Dried onions and garlic are spices used a lot in Vietnamese dishes, often bought by housewives for later use. Although it is not difficult to preserve, if you want to preserve it for a long time, everyone should remember the following preservation tips.
Tips for preserving dried garlic for a long time
+ Choosing garlic
To preserve garlic for a long time, first of all, you need to choose garlic bulbs that are firm, large, and free of worms. Carefully check the outer shell at the top of each garlic bulb to see if they are intact and have a slightly white color. The garlic cloves need to be plump and not too dry, not wrinkled and have a slightly white color. Garlic bulbs with gray or yellow cloves will not have a fragrant smell.
+ Choosing a garlic container
Use mesh bags to store garlic. They are very good for preservation, as well as helping to keep garlic fresh for a long time. In addition to mesh bags, you can use a brown paper bag to store garlic in.
+ Location of garlic
Place garlic in dry and airy places. Choose a very dry and airy place in the kitchen to store garlic. This will help the garlic not to become bitter or lose its characteristic flavor after a long time. Moreover, air circulation is also very important, it will help bacteria not to attack the garlic and spoil it.
Tips for preserving dried onions for a long time
+ Choosing dried onions
Choose dried onions that are firm, plump, old and even-skinned. The onions must not sprout, not be wet when held in the hand and have no soft spots or hollows at the stem. The onions must have a dry and peelable skin so that they can be peeled off easily.
+ Store onions in mesh bags, paper bags or baskets
Ensure ventilation to keep the onions airy and dry. Do not use plastic bags or sealed boxes to store onions because they will prevent air circulation, causing the onions to quickly rot and mold.
Place the basket or bag of onions in a cool, dry, airy place in the kitchen. Absolutely, you should not leave onions in places with too low temperature (below 10 degrees) or too high temperature. Note, you need to check the onion bag regularly and remove any onions that show signs of rotting, softness or color change to avoid mold spreading to other onions in the bag
Onions are not a difficult food to preserve. For intact onions, you do not need to refrigerate or freeze them, just keep them in a cool, dry, airy place in the kitchen.
However, when peeled or chopped, onions are best kept refrigerated to stay fresh longer. If you only need to use a small amount of peeled or chopped onions for cooking, you can save the remaining onions by wrapping them in plastic wrap or using a zip-lock plastic bag before putting them in the refrigerator. With this method, you can completely keep onions fresh for 2 to 3 days.
